| This is part three of a series examining the impact of mass deportation on children. It focuses on health, education and finances. Part one addressed child detention, and part two focused on weakening legal protections for minors.
Over 16.7 million U.S. residents live with an undocumented family member, including about 6 million children under 18. Ongoing enforcement actions impact these children’s health, education and finances.
HEALTH
In 2024, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered hospitals to query patients about their legal status. In 2025, the Trump administration lifted a federal policy that limited arrests of immigrants in sensitive locations, such as hospitals and schools. Consequently, many immigrants delayed medical care due to fear of being deported or detained. A November 2025 Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) survey showed this fear occurs even in naturalized citizens and lawfully present immigrants, with 14% of both groups avoiding care due to enforcement concerns.
Consequently, healthcare providers are seeing fewer immigrant patients for preventive care, with many seeking treatment only after illnesses have progressed and are harder and costlier to treat. Research shows that immigrant families also are wary of seeking medical care for their children.
In Texas, uninsured children can receive low- or no-cost vaccinations regardless of legal status. However, Dallas County Health and Human Services Director Phil Huang noted that its clinic’s vaccine lines used to snake outside the door and down the hall. That ended in 2024, with county-administered vaccines dropping 41% between 2023 and 2024. In addition, patients hesitate to provide personal details and frequently ask if information will be shared with ICE. Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) also offer care regardless of income or legal status, but families are avoiding them too.
Immigration enforcement can harm a child in utero. Following a 2008 worksite raid in Pottsville, Iowa, babies born to Latina mothers within 37 weeks of the raid were 24% more likely to be underweight compared to the previous year. Being born underweight raises the risks of infant mortality and long-term health issues.
Dr. Ivan Melendez, a Hidalgo County family practice physician, noted that early childhood offers a critical window, when treatment works best, for detecting diseases and developmental delays.
The KFF survey found 22% of immigrants know someone arrested, detained, or deported – nearly triple April 2025 levels. Pediatricians warn that persistent fear can cause long-term mental and physical harm, with 18% of immigrant parents reporting negative physical, behavioral, or academic impacts on their children since January 2025.
EDUCATION
Children in communities with strong ICE partnerships or raids face worse educational outcomes. Since 2017, educators noted higher absenteeism, poor concentration, falling grades, and reduced parental involvement due to enforcement fears.
Let’s take the case of an Alamo Heights family – a fifth-grade boy, a second-grade girl, and their stepmother – who were detained at a school bus stop while their father watched nearby. Victor Labrador said his wife and children showed ICE officers legal documentation but were still taken into custody.
“There are people like us who have complied with everything that has been asked of us – we’ve followed the courts, gone to all ICE appointments, met all the requirements they’ve given us – and still we went through this situation,” he said.
FINANCIAL STABILITY
A 2016 study linked deportations to higher foreclosure rates among Latinos. Additionally, nearly 1 million households with a U.S.-citizen child face poverty if their primary breadwinner is deported.
Remaining caregivers work longer hours, reducing time with children, while older children take on caretaking or jobs that disrupt school. Families limit travel to only work, restricting children’s after-school and community involvement. Deportation fears led 27% of likely undocumented and 8% of lawfully present immigrants to forgo vital assistance.
Three in four Latino grandparents reside with their families, and many serve as primary caregivers. If deported, their grandchildren lose a primary caretaker and risk foster placement. The Immigration and Naturalization Act’s hardship exemption prevents deportation of adult caregivers if it would severely harm U.S. citizens, but the act excludes grandparents. |
